Students should
come first
I’m a life-long resident
of the East Springfield
township and Cherry Valley-
Springfield school district.
I’ve seen a lot at local
board meetings and have
even been entertained at
some, but this more recent
Thursday board meeting
was most definitely no
laughing matter. It gave
me serious pause with some
very over-riding and passionate
concerns, which led
me to question who is in
charge of these facilities
and who is representing the
kids.
As you may or may not
know, I took the responsibility,
not the credit, toward
initiating the 2009 Senior
Class Trip to New York
City. I did the spontaneously
and with the best intentions
of the seniors, of
which my daughter is one.
The bottom line is that
these kids needed and deserved
a traditional class
trip, to which a large
enough interest was sowed
Toward NYC and falling on
deaf ears.
After the Virginia trip
fell short, everything went
silent for weeks about having
another trip. The advisors
involved had no concrete
backup, and basically
dropped the ball. I picked
up the ball, ran with it, and
got a time-lined overnight
trip to NYC in less than two
weeks. This trip came in
under $300 and will be full
of diverse fun and education.
The itinerary includes
tours of Madame Tussaud’s
Wax Museum, Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame Annex,
NBC Studio, a stop at the
South Street Sea Port for
lunch, dinner at Medieval
Times, an over-night stay
at a secured hotel with
breakfast in the morning, a
visit to the Liberty Science
Museum and a ferry excursion
to the Statue of Liberty
and Ellis Island.
Others with more time
at their disposal, came up
with absolutely nothing on
paper, nor at the very least
it appears that anything
was in the works. I shared
the trip information with a
class advisor (Colleen Sheldon),
school administrators,
a few seniors and the school
board.
At the first of the two
school board meetings, I
was personally thanked by
two members and was told
they were glad I had gotten
this trip together as a possibility
for the kids. I did
this not to out-do others,
but to give the kids a choice
they spoke of and in the
end, to which they overwhelming
voted for.
This second and most recent
board meeting was the
one most heightened and
alarming. It passionately
motivated me to put pen to
paper. Individuals (who I
will call Mo, Curly and Larry),
came to the meeting
with a personal agenda. It
was obviously to defame my
character and support two
of the three advisors who
voluntarily resigned, not
the NYC trip. The one thing
they dint come to the meeting
with was the facts. My
daughter, on the other
hand, enlightened these individuals
and others of the
actual circumstances,
which as a senior class
member was privy to.
My daughter came to
this meeting to learn of the
process involved. Unfortunately
she learned more
than she bargained for. She
has now learned how cruel
others can be, especially after
hearing my name negatively
repeated by Mo,
Curly and Larry.
This drove my daughter
to get uncontrollable tears
during a public recognition,
which was totally uncalled
for. I was taunted to get
into some kind of exchange,
but instead o taking the
bait, I took the high road.
One individual even said
she was appalled as a ``tax
payer’’ toward me. I find
that hard to rationalize because
contrary to the two
advisors, I received no pay
for the efforts that actually
got done.
As I finish up with my
thoughts, I would like to
state a few things for the
record. There is only one senior
advisor, in my opinion,
who has the kids best interest
and well being, first and
foremost. This person is
Colleen Sheldon, who seems
to be the least mentioned
and respected over all. With
regards to the school board
agenda, I will let you know
that the two advisors voluntarily
resigned three
days apart from one another,
which is very telling by
itself and was recommended
as a resolution to the
school board. The board tabled
those two resolutions
until whenever instead of
dealing with them at the
meeting. We all could gather
opinions on something
like that, and one could
even view from this a very
obvious, inside power play.
Finally, I want all to
know that the first resignation
wasn’t handed in personally
by the advisor, instead
it was delivered by a
representative. Quite extraordinary,
but not shocking.
I guess you can tell
who’s interest and wellbeing
came first.
This whole episode is
unfortunate, unnecessary,
pathetic, mean spirited,
unprofessional, and outright
SAD. A senior’s final
year should be nothing
short of fun, memorable
and hassle-free. I’m very
proud of my daughter Breanna
and I feel she has
been quite the adult
through these troubling
situations. I tell her that
there is a life after CV-S
and that everything will
turn out for the best.
Ken Ostrander
E. Springfield
Walker proposal
threatens lake
The Walker application
for his development on the
mountainside above Otsego
Lake, just below Five Mile
Point, is nearing the final
stages. All that remains to
complete his application is
for Walker to submit to the
Dept. of Environmental
Conservation one final required
addition to his plans
for runoff, and obtain the
DEC permit.
I would like to quote
from a recent email from
Dr. Willard Harman, who
is highly regarded as a
leading authority on the
water quality of Otsego
Lake. He is a SUNY professor
running the Lake’s Biological
Field Station.
His email states:á
``Destabilization of the
thin soils by construction or
tree removaláon shales
along Otsego Lake, such as
that on the area you refer
to, alters the flow of perched
ground and surface water
resulting in increased erosion
and slumping (mud
slides), resulting in added
particulates and associated
phosphorus entering roadside
ditches and eventually
into the lake, or massive
slumping directly into the
lake (as illustrated by the
problem at the 5 mile point
condominiums several
years ago and what is regularly
seen on undersized
cottage parcels). Added anthropogenic
nutrient contributions
result from
homes built at densitiesá(on
parcels) which do not have
enough surface area (availableásoils)
for water and
phosphorus retention from
sanitary wastes, which exacerbate
the above-mentioned
phenomena. Phosphorus
is already entering
Otsego Lake at rates exceeding
those enabling sustainable
water quality.
``Recognizing that fact,
hundreds of thousands of
dollars have been spent to
reduce nutrient loading
(runoff) via implementation
of agricultural best management
practices (BMPs)
and installation of septic
systems using nutrient removal
technologies in the
watershed. The activities
you describe, without costly
mitigation, have the potential
of negating these management
efforts.’’
Dr. Harman gives clear
evidence of why this application
should not be approved.
Walker’s development
could irreparably
damage the lake — which
serves as the source of
drinking water for Cooperstown.
Please seriously ponder
the following.
Current Problems:
There have already been
serious environmental effects
of runoff during heavy
rains because of the largescale
steep-slope clearing
from Walker’s two-home
development and road built
(without DEC knowledge)
in 1994. A portion of the
road washed out once, and
there’s been a great increase
in silt and other elements
(such as road salt)
washed into the lake
Future Problems:
There is absolutely no way
that Walker can guarantee
that all of the runoff measures
that he says he’ll put
in place will actually be followed
in years to come.. No
future oversight will be
done because there’s no official
overseer. And if Walker
moves, no one would be
sure the DEC infiltrators
and silt basins would be
kept cleaned out.
Illegal Road: The road
Walker built in 1994 is illegal
û sections are sharply
steeper than the 10 percent
grade maximum allowed by
town regulations. This
alone should lead the Planning
Board to deny his application.
Damage to Mountainside
Appearance: The
chunks of trees chopped out
of the mountain would
drastically alter the lake’s
mountainside appearance.
This area is part of a designated
Historic District
around the lake.
Dangerous Precedent:
Approval of Walker’s application
would set a dangerous
precedent by the Planning
Board for other
development applications
on the lake’s other steepslope
mountainsides
Please write to the Planning
Board and voice your
concerns. The members are
mindful of their responsibility
to protect the Otsego
Lake are, but without clear
opposition from residents,
will not necessarily deny
approval.
They need to know what
you think!
The next Planning Board
meeting will be Tuesday,
April 7 at 7:30 p.m. To be
included at the meeting,
letters should reach the
Planning Board by Monday,
April 6. Please label
with ``Walker application,’’
and remember to give your
name and address.
Email address for the
Clerk: dizdeane@peoplepc.
com
Or write to: Town of Otsego
Planning Board(re:
Walker proposal), Town
Hall, Route 26, Fly Creek,
New York 12337
Mrs. Carol B. Akin
Cooperstown
Team says
thank you
We, the CCS Volleyball
team, cannot thank the
community enough for the
love and support we have
had throughout our 2009
season.
The fans, of all ages, not
only supported us at home
but traveled to James-Ville
Dewitt and all the way to
Plattsburg, NY. We are truly
grateful.
We recently ended our
season with a special banquet
for the team and their
families. Many thanks to
all who contributed to making
this season more special
than you can ever imagine.
First and foremost to the
National Baseball Hall of
Fame & Museum for hosting
our event, and to the P
& C of Cooperstown, Danny’s
Market, Doubleday
Cafe, Schneider’s Bakery,
Taylor’s Mini Mart, Spurbeck’s
Grocery, Mohican’s
Florist, the Schuermann
Family, the Lesko Family,
McDonalds of Cooperstown,
Walmart of Oneonta, Royal
Chrysler of Oneonta, CVS
Cooperstown, TJ’s Restaurant,
Tins & Bins, Sals,
Price Chopper of Oneonta,
The Hoffman Lane Bistro,
The Tunnicliff Inn, Heckmann’s
Harmony House of
Fly Creek, Cooperstown
Natural Foods, The Copy
Shop Plus, Cooperstown
Event Rentals, the Cooperstown
Fire Department and
the Cooperstown Police.
We are blessed to live in
small town with a community
that embraces us.
Again, many thanks.
Sec III Class C Regional
Volleyball Champions 2009
Cooperstown Central
School
